Commodity carrying out device

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a commodity carrying out device that can reliably carry out even a commodity with a vertically long shape to a predetermined commodity carrying out position without producing a carrying-out failure. That is, when a bucket unit that receives a commodity is moved in a width direction towards a predetermined commodity carrying out position, the commodity is retained in an inclined state. It is thus possible to retain the commodity in a stable posture in the bucket unit that moves towards the predetermined commodity carrying out position, and even when carrying out a commodity that has a vertically long shape, the commodity can be reliably carried out to the commodity outlet portion without producing a carrying-out failure.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a commodity carrying out device that iscapable of carrying out a commodity that is stored in a commoditystorage column to a predetermined commodity carrying out position.

2. Description of the Related Art

Conventionally, as a commodity carrying out device of this kind, adevice is known that includes a plurality of commodity storage columnsthat are aligned with respect to each other in a vertical direction anda width direction for storing commodities in a condition in which thecommodities are arranged in the front-to-rear direction, a bucket forreceiving a commodity that is stored in a selected commodity storagecolumn, and a bucket moving mechanism for moving the bucket to the frontside of an arbitrary commodity storage column and moving the bucket thatreceives a commodity to a predetermined commodity carrying out position.

In the conventional commodity carrying out device, a commodity stored ina commodity storage column is received in the bucket in a state in whichthe commodity has the same posture as when the commodity is stored inthe commodity storage column and the bucket is then moved to thepredetermined commodity carrying out position. Consequently, in a casein which a commodity that has a vertically long shape is received in abucket in an upright state, when the bucket is moved in the widthdirection towards the predetermined commodity carrying out position asituation can arise in which the commodity becomes unstable inside thebucket, such as when the commodity topples over to the side that isopposite the predetermined commodity carrying out position. There isthus a risk that a carrying-out failure, such as the commodity droppingdown from the bucket, will occur.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a commodity carryingout device that can reliably carry even a commodity that has avertically long shape to a predetermined commodity carrying out positionwithout a carrying-out failure occurring.

To achieve the aforementioned object, the present invention comprises: aplurality of commodity storage columns aligned in a vertical directionand a width direction with respect to each other for storing commoditiesarranged in a front-to-rear direction; a bucket for receiving acommodity to be carried out, and in which movement of the commodity in adirection other than a direction towards a surface side from which thecommodity is taken in and put out is restricted; a bucket movingmechanism for moving the bucket to a front side of an arbitrarycommodity storage column and moving the bucket that receives thecommodity to a predetermined commodity carrying out position; and abucket rotating mechanism for rotating the bucket so that a surface atwhich the commodity is taken in and put out of the bucket faces thecommodity storage column side and the predetermined commodity carryingout position side.

As a result, movement towards both sides in the width direction andtowards the rear side of a commodity that moves towards thepredetermined commodity carrying out position side is restricted by thefact that the surface from which the commodity is taken in and put outof the bucket that receives the commodity faces the predeterminedcarrying-out position side. Therefore, the commodity can be retained ina stable state in the bucket that moves towards the predeterminedcommodity carrying out position side.

Further, to achieve the aforementioned object, the present inventioncomprises: a plurality of commodity storage columns aligned in avertical direction and a width direction with respect to each other forstoring commodities arranged in a front-to-rear direction; a bucket forreceiving a commodity to be carried out; a bucket moving mechanism formoving the bucket to a front side of an arbitrary commodity storagecolumn and moving the bucket that receives the commodity to apredetermined commodity carrying out position; and a commodity retentionmechanism for retaining the commodity in an inclined posture when movingthe bucket that receives the commodity to a predetermined commoditycarrying out position.

Therefore, since the commodity is retained in the bucket in an inclinedstate, the commodity is retained in a stable state in the bucket thatmoves towards the predetermined commodity carrying out position.

Accordingly, since a commodity can be retained in a stable state in abucket that moves towards a predetermined commodity carrying outposition, even when carrying out a commodity with a vertically longshape it is possible to reliably move the commodity to a predeterminedcommodity carrying out position without a carrying-out failureoccurring.

The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the presentinvention will be apparent from the following description and theappended drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of an automatic vending machinethat illustrates a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an overall perspective view of the automatic vending machinethat shows a state in which an external door and an operation door areopen;

FIG. 3 is a side surface cross-section of the automatic vending machine;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of essential parts of a commodity storage column;

FIG. 5 is a front view of a commodity storage column;

FIG. 6 is a side surface cross-section of essential parts of a commoditystorage column;

FIG. 7 is an overall perspective view of a bucket unit;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the bucket unit;

FIG. 9 is a front view of the bucket unit;

FIG. 10 is a rear view of the bucket unit;

FIG. 11 is a side view of the bucket unit;

FIG. 12 is a block diagram that illustrates a control system;

FIG. 13 is an operation explanatory view relating to an operation tocarry out a commodity;

FIG. 14 is an operation explanatory view relating to an operation tocarry out a commodity;

FIG. 15 is an operation explanatory view relating to an operation tocarry out a commodity;

FIG. 16 is an operation explanatory view relating to an operation tocarry out a commodity;

FIG. 17 is an operation explanatory view relating to an operation tocarry out a commodity;

FIG. 18 is an operation explanatory view relating to an operation tocarry out a commodity;

FIG. 19 is an operation explanatory view relating to an operation tocarry out a commodity;

FIG. 20 is an operation explanatory view relating to an operation tocarry out a commodity;

FIG. 21 is an operation explanatory view relating to an operation tocarry out a commodity;

FIG. 22 is an operation explanatory view relating to an operation tocarry out a commodity;

FIG. 23 is an operation explanatory view relating to an operation tocarry out a commodity;

FIG. 24 is a flowchart that illustrates operations of a controller whencarrying out a commodity from a commodity storage column that ispositioned at a wall surface side of a commodity storage chamber;

FIG. 25 is a front view of essential parts of an automatic vendingmachine that illustrates the positional relationship between a commoditythat is received by a bucket unit and a wall surface of a commoditystorage chamber;

FIG. 26 is a plan view of a bucket unit that illustrates a secondembodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 27 is an overall perspective view of a bucket unit that illustratesa third embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 to FIG. 22 illustrate the first embodiment of the presentinvention.

An automatic vending machine that includes this commodity carrying outdevice comprises an automatic vending machine main unit 10 that has anopening at the front, an external door 20 provided in an openable andclosable condition at one end side in the width direction of the openingof the automatic vending machine main unit 10, and an operation door 30provided in an openable and closable condition at the other end side inthe width direction of the opening of the automatic vending machine mainunit 10.

The automatic vending machine main unit 10 is provided with a commoditystorage chamber 12 for storing commodities A for sale and an equipmentstorage chamber 13 for storing equipment relating to selling operations.This is achieved by partitioning the inside of the automatic vendingmachine main unit 10 in the width direction with a heat insulatingpartition wall 11. The interior surface of the commodity storage chamber12 is covered with a heat insulating material. At the lower part of theequipment storage chamber 13 is provided a commodity outlet portion 14to which a commodity A to be sold is carried. An opening 15 thatconnects the commodity outlet portion 14 and the commodity storagechamber 12 is provided in the partition wall 11.

The external door 20 is rotatably supported at one end side in the widthdirection of the automatic vending machine main unit 10 and is arrangedto open and close the front of the commodity storage chamber 12. Theexternal door 20 comprises a transparent plate 21 comprising glass or asynthetic resin or the like and a frame member 22 provided around theperimeter of the transparent plate 21. The interior of the commoditystorage chamber 12 can be visually recognized from outside the externaldoor 20.

The operation door 30 is rotatably supported at the other end side inthe width direction of the automatic vending machine main unit 10 and isarranged to open and close the front of the equipment storage chamber13. At the front of the operation door 30 are provided a coin insertionslot 31, a coin return lever 32, a money amount indicator 33, a banknoteinsertion slot 34, a commodity selection portion 35, a coin return port36, and a commodity outlet port 37.

In the commodity storage chamber 12 are provided a plurality ofcommodity storage columns 50 that are disposed in alignment in the widthdirection with a plurality of vertically spaced shelves 40,respectively, a bucket unit 60 as a commodity carrying out device forcarrying a commodity A stored in a commodity storage column 50 to thecommodity outlet portion 14, and a unit moving device 70. The commoditystorage chamber 12 is also configured so as to be cooled or heated by acooler and an electric heater that are not shown. At the lower part ofthe commodity storage chamber 12 is provided an equipment chamber forhousing unshown refrigerating devices such as a compressor and aradiator.

The space dimensions of each of the vertically aligned shelves 40 areslightly greater than the height dimensions of a commodity A to bestored. This prevents erroneous storage of a commodity A that has largeheight dimensions that are different to the height dimensions of acommodity A that is intended to be stored. Each shelf 40 is formed sothat the dimensions thereof in the front-to-rear direction are smallerthan the dimensions in the front-to-rear direction of the commoditystorage column 50. Further, to secure an operating space for receiving acommodity A into the bucket unit 60 from the commodity storage column50, the front end of each shelf 40 is positioned further to the rearside than the front end of the commodity storage column 50.

Each commodity storage column 50 is provided with a commodity passage 50a extending in the front-to-rear direction that is formed by a baseplate 51 and a side plate 52. Vertically long commodities A such ascanned beverages, bottled beverages, or PET bottles can be stored in thecommodity passage 50 a in a condition in which they are aligned in thefront-to-rear direction. At the front end side of the base plate 51, acommodity locking portion 51 a that is formed to extend vertically isprovided for restricting movement of a commodity A in the frontwarddirection. Further, on the front end side of the base plate 51 isprovided a notch portion 51 b that enables movement of a fork member,described later, of the bucket unit 60 in the vertical direction.

An ejecting plate 53 which is movable in the front-to-rear direction andwhich is urged frontward by an unshown urging member such as a powerspring is disposed in the commodity passage 50 a. By storing a commodityA in the commodity passage 50 a at the front side of the ejecting plate53, the commodity A receives an urging force that urges the commodity Aforward. The ejecting plate 53 is provided with a notch portion 53 a toenable movement in the vertical direction of a fork member, describedlater, of the bucket unit 60 when the ejecting plate 53 is positioned atthe front end side of the commodity passage 50 a.

In each commodity storage column 50, a gate plate 54 that opens andcloses the front end side of the commodity passage 50 a is connected ina vertically rotatable condition to the front end side of the side plate52. The gate plate 54 is arranged so as to block off the commoditypassage 50 a in a posture in which it extends diagonally upward from theside plate 52. The gate plate 54 is urged in a direction that blocks offthe commodity passage 50 a by an urging member such as a coiled spring.Further, the gate plate 54 is arranged to open the commodity passage 50a by rotating upward against the urging force of the urging memberthrough contact of a gate release portion, described later, provided onthe bucket unit 60 side against the bottom surface of the gate plate 54.A guide portion 52 a for guiding the gate release portion in thefront-to-rear direction is also provided on the commodity passage 50 aside of the side plate 52 on which the gate plate 54 is supported.

The bucket unit 60 comprises a unit base 61 that is connected with aunit moving device 70, a bucket base 62 that is moveable in thefront-to-rear direction with respect to the unit base 61, a rotatingmember 63 that is rotatably supported by the bucket base 62 with thevertical direction as the central axis, a bucket 64 that is supported bythe rotating member 63 and is provided to support a side surface of acommodity A that is carried out, a fork member 65 that is rotatablysupported in the vertical direction by the lower end of the bucket 64and which supports the bottom surface of a commodity A that is carriedout, a rotation restricting member 66 for restricting rotation of thefork member 65, a commodity detecting plate 67 for detecting theexistence or non-existence of a commodity A within the bucket 64, and arestriction releasing member 68 for releasing the rotation restrictionof the fork member 65 by the rotation restricting member 66.

The unit base 61 has an electric motor 61 a as a motive power that movesthe bucket base 62 in the front-to-rear direction and also rotates thebucket 64, a guide groove 61 b for guiding the bucket base 62 in thefront-to-rear direction, a protrusion 61 c that imparts a force thatrotates the rotating member 63 to the commodity outlet portion 14 sideupon movement of the bucket base 62 to the front, a pair of widthdirection rails 61 d for regulating movement of the fork member 65 inthe width direction to guide the fork member 65 in the front-to-reardirection, and a commodity detecting sensor 61 e such as a microswitchthat is turned on/off by the commodity detecting plate 67.

The two ends on the left and right of the bottom surface side and theupper and lower sides of one end in the width direction of the bucketbase 62 are formed so as to engage with the guide groove 61 b that isprovided in the unit base 61 so that the bucket base 62 is movable alongthe guide groove 61 b. A groove 62 a extending in the width direction isalso provided on the bottom surface of the bucket base 62, and a linkmember 69 having one end connected to the electric motor 61 a isarranged so that the other end side thereof engages with the groove 62a. More specifically, when the link member 69 is rotated by the electricmotor 61 a, the bucket base 62 is moved in the front-to-rear directionalong the guide groove 61 b by the movement of the other end side of thelink member 69. An abutting portion 62 b formed to have a curved surfaceshape is provided in the bucket base 62. The surface of the bucket 64 onthe opposite side of the commodity receiving surface contacts againstthe abutting portion 62 b. A gate release portion 62 c that extendsrearward from a position below the abutting portion 62 b is alsoprovided in the bucket base 62. By rearward movement of the bucket base62, the gate release portion 62 c presses the gate plate 54 upward toopen the front end side of the commodity passage 50 a.

The rotating member 63 is connected to the bucket 64 in a condition inwhich the bucket 64 is rotatable backwards and forwards. Further, an endin the width direction of the rotating member 63 is rotatably connectedto the bucket base 62. The rotating member 63 is urged by an unshownurging member so that the commodity receiving surface of the bucket 64faces rearward (towards the commodity storage column side). Morespecifically, the rotating member 63 moves in the front-to-reardirection together with the bucket base 62 in a state in which thecommodity receiving surface of the bucket 64 faces rearward.Furthermore, when the bucket base 62 moves to the front end side of theunit base 61, the rotating member 63 is pushed by the protrusion 61 carranged in the unit base 61 so as to extend rearward. As a result, theorientation of the rotating member 63 changes by 90° to the commodityoutlet portion 14 side.

The bucket 64 is formed in a semi-cylindrical, curved surface shape inwhich a concave side serves as a commodity receiving surface. In thebucket 64, the lower end side is rotatably connected to the rotatingmember 63, and a surface on a side opposite the commodity receivingsurface is supported by the abutting portion 62 b of the bucket base 62so that the commodity receiving surface faces diagonally upward. Theangle of inclination of the bucket 64 is arranged so as to be changed inaccordance with the shape of the abutting portion 62 b of the bucketbase 62 and the shape of the bucket 64 against which the abuttingportion 62 b abuts. According to the present embodiment, when the bucket64 rotates to the commodity outlet portion 14 side, the angle ofinclination of the bucket 64 at the start of rotation is set to be lessthan when receiving a commodity A. Thereafter, when the bucket 64 facescompletely to the commodity outlet portion 14 side, the angle ofinclination is set to be larger than when receiving a commodity A. Anopening for attaching the commodity detecting plate 67 is provided atthe center in the width direction of the bucket 64, in a condition inwhich the opening extends in the vertical direction.

The base end side of the fork member 65 is connected to the lower endside of the bucket 64 in a condition in which the fork member 65 isrotatable in the vertical direction. The fork member 65 is provided witha plurality of commodity supporting portions 65 a that are arranged witha space between each commodity supporting portion 65 a. On the undersurface of the fork member 65 are provided a pair of grooves 65 b formoving the fork member 65 along the pair of width direction rails 61 dprovided in the unit base 61 that restrict movement in the widthdirection of the fork member 65. The upper surface of the fork member 65is inclined in a normal state from the base end side towards the frontend side. On the bottom surface on the base end side of the fork member65 is provided a contact surface 65 c that contacts with the top surfaceof the unit base 61. The angle of the top surface of the fork member 65can be changed depending on the shape of the top surface of the unitbase 61. More specifically, the top surface of the unit base 61 againstwhich the contact surface 65 c contacts is formed to be low at the rearend side so that when the bucket base 62 is positioned at the rear endside, the angle of inclination of the top surface of the fork member 65is small, and when the bucket base 62 is disposed at a position otherthan the rear end side, the angle of inclination of the top surface ofthe fork member 65 is greater than when the bucket base 62 is positionedat the rear end side.

The rotation restricting member 66 is arranged to be moveable in thevertical direction at a lower part of the surface on the opposite sideto the commodity receiving surface of the bucket 64, and is urged towardthe bottom side by an unshown urging member. The rotation restrictingmember 66 contacts against the end on the base end side of the forkmember 65 in a state in which the rotation restricting member 66 ispositioned on the lower side to thereby restrict downward rotation ofthe fork member 65. The rotation restricting member 66 is arranged so asto release the restriction on downward rotation of the fork member 65 bymoving upward. The rotation restricting member 66 is arranged so as tobe pressed upward by the restriction releasing member 68.

The commodity detecting plate 67 extends in the vertical direction overthe commodity receiving surface side of the bucket 64, and the top endside thereof is rotatably supported by the bucket 64. Similarly to thebucket 64, the commodity detecting plate 67 is formed in a curvedsurface shape so that a center portion in the width direction of thecommodity receiving surface curves inward vertically so that a commodityA that is received in the bucket 64 is moved to the center portion side.The lower end side of the commodity detecting plate 67 is urged in adirection away from the commodity receiving surface of the bucket 64 byan unshown urging member so as to rotate when a commodity A is received.A commodity detecting sensor 61 e provided in the unit base 61 isarranged so as to be turned on/off by the top end of the commoditydetecting plate 67 in a state in which the commodity receiving surfaceof the bucket 64 is facing the commodity outlet portion 14 side.According to the present embodiment, in a state in which the commodityreceiving surface of the bucket 64 is facing the commodity outletportion 14 side, when the bucket 64 contains a commodity A, thecommodity detecting sensor 61 e turns off, and when the bucket 64 doesnot contain a commodity A, the commodity detecting sensor 61 e turns on.An abutting portion 67 a against which the rotation restricting member66 that moves upward contacts is provided in a projecting condition onthe surface of the side opposite the commodity receiving surface of thecommodity detecting plate 67. When the rotation restricting member 66contacts against the abutting portion 67 a in a state in which acommodity A is in the bucket 64, the lower end side of the commoditydetecting plate 67 moves towards the commodity A to push out thecommodity A from the bucket 64.

The restriction releasing member 68 is provided in a condition in whichit is linearly moveable in a diagonally upward direction on thecommodity outlet portion 14 side of the unit base 61. The restrictionreleasing member 68 is arranged so as to push the rotation restrictingmember 66 upward when the restriction releasing member 68 is operated ina state in which the commodity receiving surface of the bucket 64 isfacing the commodity outlet portion 14 side. The restriction releasingmember 68 is arranged so as to be operated by contact with an operatingportion 16 that is provided adjacent to the opening 15 that communicateswith the commodity outlet portion 14 upon the operating portion 16moving horizontally to the commodity outlet portion 14 side of the unitbase 61. Further, the restriction releasing member 68 has an abuttingportion 68 a that extends to the bucket base 62 side. The restrictionreleasing member 68 is arranged so as to be lowered downward by contactof the bucket base 62 with the abutting portion 68 a when the bucketbase 62 moves rearward.

The unit moving device 70 is provided at the front side of the commoditystorage chamber 12. The unit moving device 70 comprises a widthwisemovement mechanism 71 for moving the bucket unit 60 in the widthdirection and a vertical movement mechanism 72 for moving the bucketunit 60 in the vertical direction. The widthwise movement mechanism 71and the vertical movement mechanism 72 are respectively constituted byan unshown mechanism that converts rotational motion into linear motion,such as a belt and pulley, a chain and sprocket, or a feed screwmechanism. The widthwise movement mechanism 71 and the vertical movementmechanism 72 are respectively arranged to be driven by an electric motorso as to move the bucket unit 60 in the width direction and the verticaldirection.

This automatic vending machine also includes a controller 80 thatcarries out temperature control of the commodity storage chamber 12 andcontrol relating to a selling operation with respect to the commodity A.The controller 80 comprises a microcomputer. As shown in FIG. 12, theelectric motor 61 a and the unit moving device 70 are connected to thecontroller 80, and the controller 80 is configured so as to send outputsignals to the electric motor 61 a and the unit moving device 70.

In the automatic vending machine configured as described above, when auser inserted a predetermined amount of money into the coin insertionslot 31 or the banknote insertion slot 34 and selects a predeterminedcommodity A at the commodity selection portion 35, first, the bucketunit 60 that is positioned at a predetermined standby position movesusing the unit moving device 70 to the front end side of a commoditystorage column 50 in which the selected commodity A is stored. Next, asshown in FIG. 13, the electric motor 61 a is driven to lower thecommodity supporting portion 65 a of the fork member 65 downward whilemoving the bucket base 62 rearward with respect to the unit base 61 sothat, as shown in FIG. 14, the commodity supporting portion 65 a isinserted to an area below the commodity A positioned at the front endside of the commodity storage column 50. At this time, as shown in FIG.15, the gate release portion 62 c of the bucket base 62 contacts thebottom surface of the gate plate 54 of the commodity storage column 50,the gate plate 54 is rotated upward by the rearward movement of thebucket base 62, to thereby open the front end side of the commoditypassage 50 a of the commodity storage column 50. Further, positioning inthe width direction of the bucket unit 60 with respect to the commoditystorage column 50 is carried out by one end side in the width directionof the gate release portion 62 c contacting with the gate plate 54 andthe other end side in the width direction of the gate release portion 62c contacting with the guide portion 52 a. Next, as shown in FIG. 16, thebucket unit 60 is moved upward by the unit moving device 70 so that thecommodity A is lifted by the fork member 65 to receive the commodity Ainside the bucket 64. At this time, since the top surface of the forkmember 65 forms a downward slope from the front edge side to the baseend side thereof, as shown in FIG. 17, the commodity A that is liftedupward tilts forward so that it moves forward and is received inside thebucket 64. As shown in FIG. 18, the bucket unit 60 that receives thecommodity A moves the bucket base 62 forward with respect to the unitbase 61 and, as shown in FIG. 19, raises the commodity supportingportion 65 a of the fork member 65 upward to incline the commodity A tothe bucket 64 side. Thereafter, when the bucket base 62 is moved furtherforward, as shown in FIG. 20, the bucket 64 rotates to the commodityoutlet portion 14 side. At this time, when the bucket base 62 movesforward with respect to the unit base 61, the rotating member 63contacts against the protrusion 61 c of the unit base 61 and changesorientation by 90° to the commodity outlet portion 14 side, and as aresult the bucket 64 rotates towards the commodity outlet portion 14.Further, since the bucket 64 rotates while the upper side thereofcontacts against the abutting portion 62 b, at the start of rotation theangle of inclination of the bucket 64 is less than the angle ofinclination thereof when receiving the commodity A, and when the bucket64 completely faces the commodity outlet portion 14 side, the angle ofinclination thereof is greater than the angle of inclination whenreceiving the commodity A. Next, in a state in which the bucket 64 facesthe commodity outlet portion 14 side, as shown in FIG. 21, the bucketunit 60 containing the commodity A is moved in the vertical directionand width direction by the unit moving device 70 to move to thecommodity carrying out position. At this time, the commodity A in thebucket unit 60 is retained in a state in which the commodity A inclinesin a width direction that is opposite to the width direction in whichthe bucket unit 60 moves. Subsequently, by movement in the widthdirection of the unit moving device 70, as shown in FIG. 22, therestriction releasing member 68 contacts against the operating portion16 provided adjacent to the opening 15 of the commodity outlet portion14 and moves diagonally upward to thereby move the rotation restrictingmember 66 upward. This movement releases the restriction on rotation ofthe fork member 65 so that the fork member 65 rotates downward and thereceived commodity A is carried out in a diagonally downward direction.Further, when the rotation restricting member 66 moves upward, as shownin FIG. 23, the rotation restricting member 66 contacts against theabutting portion 67 a of the commodity detecting plate 67 to cause thecommodity detecting plate 67 to rotate. As a result, the commodity A inthe bucket 64 is pushed out in a diagonally upward direction so that thecommodity A is reliably carried out to the commodity outlet portion 14.The bucket unit 60 from which the commodity A has been carried out isthen moved to the predetermined standby position by the unit movingdevice 70 to complete the operation.

FIG. 24 shows a flowchart illustrating operations to be performed when acommodity A in a commodity storage column 50 located adjacent to thewall surface on the opposite side to the commodity outlet portion 14side of the commodity storage chamber 12 is to be carried out to thecommodity outlet portion 14. In this case, the controller 80 receivesthe commodity A in the bucket 64 from the commodity storage column 50(step S1), moves the bucket unit 60 a predetermined distance in thewidth direction to the commodity outlet portion 14 side (step S2), androtates the bucket 64 to the commodity outlet portion 14 side (step S3).

Therefore, even when the height dimensions of a commodity A stored in acommodity storage column 50 located adjacent to the wall surface on theopposite side to the commodity outlet portion 14 side of the commoditystorage chamber 12 are large, as shown in FIG. 25, the commodity A thatis received in the bucket 64 is carried out to the commodity outletportion 14 without the top of the commodity A contacting against thewall surface of the commodity storage chamber 12.

Thus, according to the commodity carrying out device of the presentembodiment, the bucket 64 is rotated so that the commodity receivingsurface of the bucket 64 faces the commodity storage column 50 side andthe predetermined commodity carrying out position side. As a result,because there is a restriction on movement to the rear side and to bothsides in the width direction of the commodity A that moves towards thepredetermined commodity carrying out position side, it is possible toretain the commodity A in a stable state in the bucket 64 that movestowards the predetermined commodity carrying out position side.Therefore, even when carrying out a commodity A that has a verticallylong shape, the commodity A can be reliably carried out to the commodityoutlet portion 14 without a carrying-out failure occurring.

Further, when moving the bucket unit 60 that receives the commodity A inthe width direction towards the predetermined commodity carrying outposition, the commodity A is retained in a state in which it is inclinedthe other way in the width direction with respect to the direction inthe width direction that the bucket unit 60 moves. Since it is thuspossible to hold the commodity A in a stable state in the bucket unit 60that moves towards the predetermined commodity carrying out position,even when carrying out a commodity A that has a vertically long shape,the commodity A can be reliably carried out to the commodity outletportion 14 without a carrying-out failure occurring.

Further, the carrying-out device of the present invention is arranged soas to rotate the bucket 64 that supports the side surface side of thecommodity A with the commodity A in an inclined state and the forkmember 65 supporting the bottom surface side of the commodity A with thecommodity A in an inclined state so that the commodity receiving surfaceof the bucket 64 faces to the commodity outlet portion 14 side from thecommodity storage column 50 side. As a result, it is possible to holdthe commodity A that is stored at the front end side of the commoditystorage column 50 using the bucket 64 and the fork member 65 in a statein which the commodity A inclines forward, and by the rotating thebucket 64 and the fork member 65, to move the bucket unit 60 in a statein which the commodity A is inclined in the other direction in the widthdirection with respect to the direction in the width direction in whichthe bucket unit 60 moves. Thus, carrying out of the commodity A from thefront end side of the commodity storage column 50 to the commodityoutlet portion 14 can be reliably performed.

Further, after the commodity A that was stored in the commodity storagecolumn 50 is retained by the bucket 64 and the fork member 65 and thebucket unit 60 is moved a predetermined distance to the commodity outletportion 14 side by the unit moving device 70, the bucket 64 and the forkmember 65 that hold the commodity A are rotated to the commodity outletportion 14 side. As a result, since the commodity A that is retained bythe bucket 64 and the fork member 65 does not contact the wall surfacewhen a commodity A of a commodity storage column 50 adjacent to a wallsurface on an opposite side to the commodity outlet portion 14 side ofthe commodity storage chamber 12 is received in the bucket unit 60 andthe bucket 64 and the fork member 65 are rotated, an increase in thewidth direction dimensions of the automatic vending machine main unit 10can be prevented.

The carrying-out device of the present invention also comprises therotation restricting member 66 for restricting rotation of the forkmember 65, the restriction releasing member 68 for releasing therestriction on rotation of the fork member 65 by the rotationrestricting member 66, and the operating portion 16 provided adjacent tothe opening 15 of the commodity outlet portion 14 for operating therestriction releasing member 68 by movement of the bucket unit 60. It istherefore possible to rotate the fork member 65 by movement of thebucket unit 60 and to carry out the commodity A retained in the bucket64 and the fork member 65 to the commodity outlet portion 14 withoutseparately requiring a motive power for rotating the fork member 65, andthus production costs can be decreased.

Further, the commodity detecting plate 67 is also provided as acommodity push-out member that pushes out, in the commodity carrying outdirection, the commodity A that is contained in the bucket 64 inresponse to movement of the rotation restricting member 66. As a result,since the commodity A can be pushed out in the commodity carrying outdirection by the commodity detecting plate 67 when the restriction onrotation of the fork member 65 is released and the commodity A iscarried out to the commodity outlet portion 14, the commodity A that isreceived in the bucket 64 can be reliably carried out to the commodityoutlet portion 14.

The surface side of the commodity detecting plate 67 that contacts witha commodity is formed in a curved shape so that the center in the widthdirection of the commodity detecting plate 67 forms a concave portion.As a result, when carrying out the commodity A to the commodity outletportion 14, the commodity A can be positioned in the center in the widthdirection of the commodity detecting plate 67 and pushed out by thecommodity detecting plate 67. Therefore, the commodity A can be carriedout more reliably to the commodity outlet portion 14.

The surface side of the bucket 64 that contacts with the commodity A isformed in a curved shape so that the center in the width direction ofthe bucket 64 forms a concave portion. Since the commodity A that isreceived in the bucket 64 can therefore be positioned in the center inthe width direction of the bucket 64, the commodity A can be reliablyretained in the bucket 64.

The angle of inclination of the bucket 64 after the commodity receivingsurface of the bucket 64 is rotated to the commodity outlet portion 14side is arranged to be greater than the angle of inclination of thebucket 64 when receiving the commodity A in the bucket 64 from thecommodity storage column 50. Thus, when moving the bucket unit 60 fromthe front end side of the commodity storage column 50 to thepredetermined commodity carrying out position, the received commodity Acan be moved in a more stable posture and thus dropping of the commodityA that is received in the bucket 64 can be prevented.

Further, the angle of inclination of the bucket 64 after the bucket base62 is moved forward with respect to the unit base 61 is arranged to besmaller than the angle of inclination of the bucket 64 when thecommodity A is received in the bucket 64 from the commodity storagecolumn 50. Since it is therefore possible to prevent the commodity Athat is received in the bucket 64 from contacting the external door 20,an increase in the dimensions in the front-to-rear direction of theautomatic vending machine main unit 10 can be prevented.

The restriction releasing member 68 is arranged to be moved downward bymoving the bucket base 62 rearward with respect to the unit base 61.Consequently, since it is possible to reliably move the restrictionreleasing member 68 downward by an operation when receiving thecommodity A of the commodity storage column 50 in the bucket 64, theoperation to carry out the commodity A can be reliably performed.

FIG. 26 illustrates a second embodiment of the present invention. Inthis case, the same reference symbols are assigned to components thatare the same as in the previous embodiment.

In this automatic vending machine, the bucket 64 is composed from a pairof bucket members 64 a disposed in the width direction. The pair ofbucket members 64 a are rotatably connected to each other in a conditionin which the center in the width direction of the bucket 64 serves asthe center of rotation.

In the automatic vending machine constituted as described above, whenthe commodity A is received in the bucket 64, each bucket member 64 a ofthe bucket 64 rotates so that the commodity A is pinched from both sidesin the width direction by the pair of bucket members 64 a.

Thus, according to the commodity carrying out device of the presentembodiment, the bucket 64 is composed from a pair of bucket members 64 adisposed in the width direction in a condition in which they arerotatably connected to each other. The pair of bucket members 64 a arearranged to pinch a received commodity A from both sides in the widthdirection. It is thus possible to prevent a received commodity A fromdropping out of the bucket 64 and improve the precision with respect tocarrying out a commodity A.

FIG. 27 illustrates a third embodiment of the present invention. For thethird embodiment, the same reference symbols are assigned to componentsthat are the same as in the foregoing embodiment.

This automatic vending machine comprises a pair of drop preventionplates 64 b for preventing a received commodity A from dropping. Thepair of drop prevention plates 64 b are arranged so as to respectivelyextend along the commodity receiving surface side from both sides in thewidth direction of the bucket 64. Each drop prevention plate 64 b isrotatably supported by the bucket 64 and is urged by an unshown urgingmember so as to extend in the horizontal direction to the commodityreceiving surface side from both sides in the width direction of thebucket 64.

In the automatic vending machine constituted as described above, when acommodity A disposed at the front end side of a commodity storage column50 is to be received in the bucket 64, the drop prevention plates 64 bcontact the side plate 52 of the commodity storage column 50 and rotatedownward. Further, when the bucket unit 64 that receives the commodity Ais to be moved to the predetermined commodity carrying out position, thedrop prevention plates 64 b prevent the commodity A from dropping fromthe bucket 64.

Thus, according to the commodity carrying out device of the presentembodiment, drop prevention plates for preventing a received commodity Afrom dropping are provided so as to extend to the commodity receivingsurface side from both sides in the width direction of the bucket 64. Itis therefore possible to prevent a received commodity A from droppingdown from the bucket 64 and to improve the accuracy with respect tocarrying out a commodity A.

According to the above described embodiment, a configuration wasillustrated in which the commodity detecting sensor 61 e that is turnedon/off by the commodity detecting plate 67 is provided in the unit base61. However, even when the commodity detecting sensor 61 e is providedin the bucket 64, the commodity detecting sensor 61 e can similarlydetect when a commodity A is sold out or when a fault occurs during anoperation to carry out a commodity A. When the commodity A of apredetermined commodity storage column 50 is sold out, the commodity Aof a different commodity storage column 50 can be carried out, and inthe case of a failure to receive a commodity A in the bucket 64, thecarrying out operation is performed again so that the commodity A can bedefinitely sold.

The embodiments described in the present specification are exemplaryembodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit thepresent invention. It should be understood that the scope of thisinvention is defined by the attached claims, and all modificationswithin the meaning of those claims are included in the presentinvention.

1. A commodity carrying out device, comprising: a plurality of commoditystorage columns aligned in a vertical direction and a width directionwith respect to each other for storing commodities arranged in afront-to-rear direction; a bucket for receiving a commodity to becarried out, and in which movement of the commodity in a direction otherthan a direction towards a surface side from which the commodity istaken in and put out is restricted; a bucket moving mechanism for movingthe bucket to a front side of an arbitrary commodity storage column andmoving the bucket that receives the commodity to a predeterminedcommodity carrying out position; and a bucket rotating mechanism forrotating the bucket so that a surface at which the commodity is taken inand put out of the bucket faces the commodity storage column side andthe predetermined commodity carrying out position side.
 2. A commoditycarrying out device, comprising: a plurality of commodity storagecolumns aligned in a vertical direction and a width direction withrespect to each other for storing commodities arranged in afront-to-rear direction; a bucket for receiving a commodity to becarried out; a bucket moving mechanism for moving the bucket to a frontside of an arbitrary commodity storage column and moving the bucket thatreceives the commodity to a predetermined commodity carrying outposition; and a commodity retention mechanism for retaining thecommodity in an inclined posture when moving the bucket that receivesthe commodity to a predetermined commodity carrying out position.
 3. Thecommodity carrying out device according to claim 2, wherein: the bucketincludes a bucket main unit for supporting a side surface side of thecommodity with the commodity in an inclined state, a commoditysupporting member for supporting a bottom surface side of the commoditywith the commodity in an inclined state, and a bucket rotating mechanismfor rotating the bucket main unit and the commodity supporting memberfrom the commodity storage column side to the predetermined commoditycarrying out position side.
 4. The commodity carrying out deviceaccording to claim 3, further comprising: a controller for rotating thebucket main unit and the commodity supporting member that retain thecommodity towards the commodity carrying out position side by the bucketrotating mechanism after having moved the bucket main unit and thecommodity supporting member that retain a commodity a predetermineddistance in the predetermined commodity carrying out position side bythe bucket moving mechanism.
 5. The commodity carrying out deviceaccording to claim 2, further comprising: a support releasing mechanismfor releasing a support of the commodity by the commodity supportingmember; and an operating portion that is disposed at the predeterminedcommodity carrying out position and provided for operating the supportreleasing mechanism accompanying movement of the bucket main unit andthe commodity supporting member.
 6. The commodity carrying out deviceaccording to claim 5, further comprising: a commodity push-out member,provided in the bucket main unit, for pushing out the received commodityin a commodity carrying out direction in response to operation of thesupport releasing mechanism.
 7. The commodity carrying out deviceaccording to claim 6, wherein: a surface of the commodity push-outmember that contacts with the commodity is formed in a curved surfaceshape so that a center portion in a width direction of the commoditypush-out member is a concave portion.
 8. The commodity carrying outdevice according to claims 3, wherein: a surface of the bucket main unitthat contacts with the commodity is formed in a curved surface so that acenter portion in a width direction of the bucket main unit is a concaveportion.
 9. The commodity carrying out device according to claims 3,wherein: an angle of inclination of the bucket main unit after thebucket main unit is rotated towards the predetermined commodity carryingout position side by the bucket rotating mechanism is greater than anangle of inclination of the bucket main unit when receiving thecommodity of the commodity storage column.
 10. The commodity carryingout device according to claims 3, wherein: an angle of inclination ofthe bucket main unit after the bucket is moved forward by the bucketmoving mechanism is less than an angle of inclination of the bucket mainunit when receiving the commodity of the commodity storage column. 11.The commodity carrying out device according to claim 5, furthercomprising: a mechanism for returning the support releasing mechanism toa standby state accompanying forward movement of the bucket.
 12. Thecommodity carrying out device according to claims 3, wherein: the bucketmain unit pinches the received commodity from both sides in the widthdirection.
 13. The commodity carrying out device according to claims 3,wherein: drop prevention portions that prevent dropping of the commoditythat is received in the bucket are provided on both sides in the widthdirection of the bucket main unit.